Burn

By Christy Creative Dreamer Dawn

Dating Q&A.

We are on the road again! This morning the snow is aggressively blowing across the highway, as we slowly sip our coffee. As we travel, we get asked a variety of questions and thought we would highlight a few with our answers.

Q: Chantelle, what was your worst date?

A: It was my first date in high school. He took me to McDonalds and I had to pay. There wasn't a second date! 

Q: Charlene, why are you single? 

A: I don't want to date for the sake of dating. Instead, I've chosen to wait. In this period of time, I am pursuing my dreams and hopefully will meet whoever he may be while pursuing such passions! 

Q: Chantelle, why are you single?

A: I haven't found the right one and I am not willing to compromise. I've changed my view of dating, since I yearn for a friend before a first date.  In this time, I see the value of friendship. So, I've chosen to wait and remain single. 

Q: Charlene, how far is to far?

A: Honestly, I think this is the wrong question. In asking this question, aren't you trying to justify a degree of physical intimacy? So, maybe ask God, "what is physically appropriate in His eyes?" 

Q: Chantelle, what do you wish women and men would understand about dating?

A: My prayer is that they would know the value of their worth as an individual. You are a valuable jewel, which is worth protecting. Take time to protect your heart and mind and grasp whose you are, God’s chosen child. So, don't find your worth in the opposite sex, rather in God. Furthermore, only give yourself to someone who is worthy of the jewel that you truly are! 

Q: Charlene, why is it SO hard to wait?

A: Isn't it a desire of your heart? It doesn't help when people ask, "why aren't you dating?" Often, I am temped to ask, "why are you married?" Or even question, "why does my relationship status matter?" I've discovered it is a mental fight between what society says and what I believe God is asking and teaching me in this season of singleness.

Q: Chantelle, your dream guy?

A: A lumberjack!

Q: Charlene, your dream guy?

A: An active man full of surprises and heart for adventure! And if he plays the guitar, it's a bonus!

So, hopefully that answers a few of your questions! 

#chartelle (Chantelle and Charlene)

His Way

Today I read this bible verse:

Psalm 18:30
God's way is perfect. All the LORD's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.

Again!
His way is perfect.
Again!
HIS. WAY. IS. PERFECT.
PERFECT.

I don't know why today, but that hit me like a ton of bricks.  How many times I've tried to go it on my own. How many ideas I've tried to make work.  How many plans have I made.  How many dreams have I dreamed and goals I've written down.  Countless.  And to be honest, yes sometimes they've turned out good or alright.  But never perfect.  Not unless I've turned to abba, and asked him to reveal His ways.

How should I do this?
What's the best way?
What are you thinking?
Will you share with me your ideas?
Will you show me your heart?
Will you guide and direct my footsteps today?

The best part is, when I've asked Him to show me: He has.  He is so faithful.

I know these questions excite my Heavenly Father.   I know he can hardly wait for me to ask Him for his help, to show me His ways and His ideas.  I  mean, c'mon, His ways are PERFECT.  They're the BEST.  His ways are much more brilliant, rewarding and perfect than any plan I could ever conjure up.

He wants to surprise us.  He wants to lavish His gifts on us.  He wants to walk beside us.  He wants to fill us with His love and peace.  And He wants to whisper to us His perfect ways.

And yes, His ways are perfect. But this doesn't mean:
Your life looks perfect or you look perfect.

What it means is:
When you yield your ways for His perfect ways(will), your life will reflect Him, YOU will reflect Him.

I am going to continue to repeat the verse to myself.

I'm going to try and start my mornings with those questions and listen to the voice of God.

I'm excited to see all the great things He'll do, go the places He'll lead and to see a continual transformation of myself and my life that begins to look more and more like my Heavenly Father and His ways.

Matthew 7:11
So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

He wants to impart to you good and perfect gifts.  He wants to show you his perfect ways, but, you have to ASK.

I ask you to join me on this challenge to seek the Fathers ways, in all things, every single day.

P.S, I wasn't going to write a blog about this bible verse.  "I" had my own ideas/topics for what I thought I was going to write about. Obviously HE had a different idea, LOL!!!

Blessings,

Christy Creative Dreamer Dawn

Warmed Milk & A Broken Thumb

As a kid, I recall before bed I'd be given warmed milk (42 seconds in the microwave to be exact).  As an adult, I currently have a broken thumb and I am drinking warmed milk. Why? It's comforting. Furthermore, it might just heal my thumb like the phrase my mother would say, "I am kissing it all better!"  Somehow, scrapes and cuts were miraculously healed with those exact words!  Ironically, I wonder if my theology of healing would have changed if I was instructed as a child to believe and state, "in Jesus' name you're healed."

I sat awaiting the results of my x-rays for my right thumb, as I pathetically attempted to pass the time texting with my left hand. I received a text that highlighted, "declare the bone mended and whole, but believe it and want it. Healing is already yours if you want it. Jesus did the work. Our Father has the role as a healer because of the finished work on the cross. For whatever reason, sometimes his children don't want healing. So, I challenge you to want it more than the attention it will garner you in sympathy. Instead, desire healing and the glory it will give to God." Truthfully, it wasn't really the text I expected post breaking my thumb with intensive swelling and shooting pain. 

Then I was reminded of a quote that my mother would state, as I sat at the kitchen counter sipping my warmed milk.  She would look directly at me and softly say, "difficult things can cause us to ask, "Why did this happen?" But if we're trusting in Christ we never need to ask, "How could He let this happen?" God may never reveal all His reasons to us; but He has revealed His character to us. His character assures us that He never makes mistakes; He is never uncaring; and that He never separates himself from our need" (unknown). 

If you were to ask me, "what is my theology of healing?" Today, I'd respond by outlining, I BELIEVE it is in God's very character to heal. Truthfully, I've never witnessed a paralyzed man walk or discovered a cure for cancer or seen a blind man see. I'll acknowledge that I wonder how sometimes someone is healed and another person isn't. In the past, I'd let this discourage or create bitterness towards the concept of healing.  Then I realized, I had to BELIEVE even without evidence.  Just like I BELIEVED as a child that my mother could kiss it all better, I am required to have child like faith. For "whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you" (John 16:23).  Furthermore, "whatever you ask for in prayer, BELIEVE that you have received it, and it will be yours" (Mark 11:24). As a result, God is stirring in me a desire to declare healing, as I choose to believe in his very character of healing. Because I am forgiven so I choose to forgive; because I am loved so I choose to love in return; because God speaks so I choose to respond; and because it is His very character to heal so I am healed as His child!

So, I am sitting and sipping my milk at the kitchen table and boldly asking that you join me in declaring and believing in the possibility of healing! 

I DECLARE!

• Healing over my mom's blood clot
• Healing over my cousin's kidney failure
• Healing over my friend's back and ruptured disks
• Healing over another friend's broken heart
• Healing over my friend's anxiety
• Healing over another friend's neck and headaches
• Healing over my friend's concussion
• Healing over another friend's dying mother
• Healing over my friend's inability to conceive 

I DECLARE!

• Healing over CANCER
• Healing over DEPRESSION
• Healing over DRUG and ALCOHOL ABUSE
• Healing over BROKEN MARRIAGES
• Healing over HOMELESSNESS
• Healing over HOSTILE RELATIONSHIPS
• Healing over AIDS
• Healing over SUICIDE and SELF-HARM
• Healing over CANADA and the WORLD

This is just a start….

Will you please join me in believing and declaring healing?

With a heart eager to see healing,

Charlene

Take A Step

I'm feeling a stirring in my spirit, an excitement, anticipation, for what...I'm not quite sure.

My desire is to follow where He leads.

To trust in His plans no questions asked.

Why then do I question? Why do I hesitate and hold back? What am I doing!?!?

His ways are perfect(Psalm 18:30) and mine......are not.

I believe that living by faith, while hard, is absolutely necessary.

So what are we doing? How are we building up our faith? Are we responding to the voice of God and stepping out of our comfort zones? No, well, why not....are we afraid? Afraid that He won't be there to guide us, to speak through us, to use us. Are we afraid to take that step of faith because it might not actually be Him speaking to us. There are so many things that cause us to shrink back and be afraid but still God calls, draws you in, speaks. To increase your faith you must decrease, decrease your doubts, decrease your fear, decrease your emotions and begin taking some of those small steps. That is how your faith will increase. A wise person once told me "so what if you mess up" learn from it and keep going. I want to encourage all of you to take a step of faith and if you think you are all alone in the difficulty of taking that step, you're not. We all struggle with faith in one area or another. You may be struggling with hearing Gods voice or trusting in His plan......I struggle with a fear of prophesying in church and it not being from God. Thankfully, my faith in Him and my desire to follow enables me to try. Every small step/victory strengthens my faith...my trust in Him and His guidance and direction for my life.  Don't be so afraid or worried that you loose out
                                                                     on the amazing adventure God has for you!

 Take a step....trust me, it's worth it.

TinaMarie

*quote is taken from the song Oceans(Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsongs. I was listening to it on repeat while editing and posting this blog.....LOVE that song!

Ain't Sixteen Anymore.

You have potentially pinned the image on Pintrest, which highlights "someday someone will walk into your life and make you realize why it never worked out with anyone else." Or maybe you liked a quote and posted it on Facebook, which stated, "I am not single. I am not taken. I am simply on reserve for the one who deserves my heart." Or maybe you have even laughed and dreamed of the "Hey Girl" lines attached to Ryan Gosling. 

At sixteen, I thought I had this thing called, "love" figured out. 

Actually, I had it all planned and thoroughly written out.  I'd be married at twenty-two. I'd find the man I'd fall in love with at college and we'd marry shortly after. The moment I held his hand, I'd know he would be my husband. I envisioned we'd get married and travel the world together for a few years before settling down and raising our family. We'd buy our first home and at the house warming party, we'd announce the arrival of our first child. Eventually, I foresaw four little blonde children running around the house and filling each and every crack which such vibrant laughter. He'd chase them around the house, as I'd make dinner. We'd grow old, yet he'd still kiss me on the forehead and I'd get butterflies! Years would pass and we'd be siting in our rocking chairs on the front deck pondering life, the richness and depth of life we'd endured, as we'd marvel at how we experienced it together and that was all that mattered. 

Then I stumbled upon a list that I'd attached to the dream, which I had written at sixteen. 

A piece of my list read like this…

Recently, a friend told me that I needed to make a list, which outlined the qualities I was seeking in a guy. At first, I burst out laughing and quickly stated, "why?" She said, "you ain't going to ever find "Mr. Right, " yet I want you to understand what you deserve. Charlene, you deserve the best…"

So, if your the best…

• You have a personal and intimate relationship with God
• You play the guitar and are willing to teach me
• You are adventurous and random
• You enjoy looking up at the stars in the sky
• You engage in even the hard areas of life and ask, "how can I help?"
• You listen
• You have dreams and ambitions for life
• You make me laugh and tease me in a flirty way
• You like "power-hours" that contain a walk or hike
• You speak words of affirmation

At sixteen, I ended my list by stating, "I can wait for the best. I will simply smile and thank God for allowing me to be patient. For enabling me to know deep within my heart that he had someone specifically designed for me. I might be a sixteen-year-old girl with a list, yet this list has allowed me to guard my heart and wait for you to capture it. One day, our lives will be joined together and I will give you a beautiful gift: my heart. I will give it to you and ask that you will protect it, nurture it, and promise you will never let it go."

 "Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)." 

I ain't sixteen anymore, yet I still wait for love in my mid-twenties. As a result,  I am reminded of the love that my Heavenly Father richly lavishes upon me on a daily basis. I just have to ask! Such as, God can you reveal your love to me today? Furthermore, He is actually the one who holds my heart and protects it, nurtures it, and promises to never let it go.  He reminds me of His very character, since He is patient. He is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. He does not dishonour others, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no records of wrongs. He does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. His love never fails! 

In this valentine's season of chocolates and roses, may you ask God to reveal his very character of love. Furthermore, I think you will be pleasantly surprised who he brings into your life in a season of waiting….

With a heart willing to wait,

Charlene

When Did We Become So Mean? Being Bullied - Part 2

I've been bullied by WORDS.

In my head were the words, "run Charlene, run!" It was a moment, similar to Forest Gump, as I ran towards the woman's bathroom. I didn't make it in time. Instead, I recall asking and mildly pleading without creating a scene, "just let me in, please!" The door never opened. I walked away.

Twas, my first week of grade nine. We didn't have cell phones, which truthfully I think having access to texting or snap chat or Facebook or Instagram would have been detrimental for me. Instead, we had MSN. Plus, the slowest dial up internet that almost made cyber bullying a challenge. Hence, why we resorted to written notes torn out of our lined duotangs and than crisply folded in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

A few days later, I was given a note. It kindly informed me that I wasn't allowed to be friends anyone. The words, "wasn't allowed" stung and suddenly I lost the closest friends that I had known for six years. Those words, like many other words, changed and transformed areas of my life that didn't require additional pain or hurt or rejection. 

So, why do we use WORDS to bully?
Charlene


RUFFLES,
and that's pretty much what I remember.
It was grade 7(or 8) and this lovely girl in my gym class would use that word to refer to my underdeveloped chest. 
Pretty much, I had no boobs when almost every other girl was developing.
My mom has told me that I cried at home but I do not recall.
All I remember is Ruffles and the name of the girl that came up with it.
I am so thankful that the small amount of bullying I received did not affect me in any long or lasting way.
People can be mean, can bully, and to be honest, the only thing I can think of is....what has happened to them.
TinaMarie



Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.

So wrong...so wrong.

Words do hurt. 

Being called words that in no way reflect or describe the real you.  Being told lies about yourself.  Being harassed with words that cut deeper than any knife.  That cut to the core of your being, that make you wonder if you even really know who you are.

I was bullied with words throughout jr-sr. high school.  I was a misconception because of the words spoken about me.  I was bullied without reason, not that there actually is reason or justification for bullying.  I was bullied with words, by girls who probably didn't even know my name, and most certainly didn't know me. ME!  A real, live, breathing, feeling, growing, uncertain human being.  Just trying to figure out who I was and being told who they thought I was with such crude remarks and hurtful words. 

I remember thinking if those that had spoken such hurtful crass things to and about me, had only just taken the time to know the real me, my heart, well, maybe they'd have not spoken so rashly, maybe they'd have even liked me.

I wish I knew why.  I wish I could have been more confident in myself.  I wish I could have taken a stand.  I wish they could have really know me.  I wish, I wish...words didn't hurt so much.

♫O be careful little mouth what you say♫

Christy Dawn

One Guy. Two Girls. I was the girlfriend and she was the new girl in town. She liked him, I liked him, and he could not decide who he liked.  Within weeks, I became the ex-girlfriend and she became the new girlfriend. It felt like my whole grade six world shifted from me being “in” to me being “out”.  I was no longer one of the popular girls in school, rather my friends became her new BFF’s.  For the first time, I felt like an outcast, unwanted and alone.  I would walk through the hallway and the “in” group would just chuckle and laugh or even worse, they would silently watch me pass by.  Rumors spread that I was  a flirt. As a result, girls choose to not be my friend in fear I would steal their grade six boyfriend.  I felt so alone. I hated going to school and could not wait to get out of middle school.  I was not bullied by words, but I was bullied by their actions. Actions do speak louder than words.   

Challenge:  Jealousy, envy, lies, misconceptions, and rumors are all little seeds that shape and mold our thoughts and actions.  Either we water these little seeds or get rid of them before they grow into nasty weeds.  Take a moment and look into your heart, do you see weeds or good fruit growing?

xoxoxo

Chantelle

How was I bullied...With words, statements, labels. Who was I bullied by??  MYSELF…”Ashley, you’re not good enough, not pretty enough, you don’t have what it takes, and you will never measure up”. I was never bullied by anyone else but my own thoughts, my own declarations. And what even gave me that right? This world can be tough enough, mean enough, hurtful enough without me hurting myself in the process. It is time for us to break the cycle of self-bullying. How do we do this? By no longer speaking over ourselves our truths, but declaring over our lives God’s truth.

 The Word of God says “for YOU created my inmost being, YOU knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise YOU for I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE. Your works are wonderful and I know that full well (Psalm 139:13-14). Every one of us are God’s individual creations, made with love and given individual abilities, gifting’s and talents. God said “I have loved you with an everlasting love, I have drawn you with loving kindness” (Jeremiah 31:3). Isn’t it time we show ourselves the same love and kindness that our Creator and Father lavishes upon us?

With Love,

Ashley

Bonus Video: 30 Day Challenge!